About the Author

I am a forest mycology grad student at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

As with many Americans, my introduction to wild mushrooms began at an early age with annual spring morel hunts. For most of my life, these were the only wild mushrooms that I recognized as edible, and the only that generated any more than passing interest.

That all changed when I began work at a Phoenix environmental company and met Dr. Chester Leathers, mycologist and professor emeritus of Arizona State University. Dr. Leathers acted as my mentor and trained me in identification of common mold species that colonize water damaged materials. Serendipitously, Dr. Leathers was (and still is) the president of the Arizona Mushroom Club. He invited me to join the club on a foray... and my interest in fungi has escalated exponentially ever since.

To date I have tried to apply my interest in mycology actively. This website is part of that effort. My graduate work: speciating the Armillaria mella complex in Arizona, is another. I have volenteered at the Robert L. Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium at the University of Arizona under Dr. Elisabeth (Betsy) Arnold. I have given lectures and guided hikes on fungal ecology with my wife, and do my best to educate and spread the word as opportunity allows.

I hope you enjoy your visit here at my website. Please leave a comment in the guestbook; I'd love to hear from you.